


Semantics

by Lieju



Category: Indiana Jones Series
Genre: Enemies With Benefits, M/M, an alternative universe where rene survives the events of raiders of the lost ark, slight sexual content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-02-19 06:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22473469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieju/pseuds/Lieju
Summary: Indy and René had an arrangement. But at some point a long term enemies with benefits relationship maybe doesn't differ that much from just dating.
Relationships: Rene Belloq/Henry "Indiana" Jones
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

Indiana pinned René against the bookshelf in his small office.

”What did you take?” he demanded to know.

”Nothing.” René lifted an eyebrow. ”Oh my aren't we paranoid today?”

”I found you in my office, _alone_.” Indy applied more pressure to René's shoulder for emphasis. ”It's called pattern recognition.”

He moved his other hand lower on his rival's body, sliding past his pockets and settling on his ass.

”I will strip you naked if I have to.”

René's grin didn't make him seem all that worried by the prospect. ”Would you believe if I told you I had no time to go for what I was looking for?”

He moved fast, hands unbuttoning Indy's shirt. Indy kissed him, pushing him harder against the shelf.

He was so glad they had finally managed to work out a system. This was much more pleasant than waving a gun at each other or throwing around threats both knew were mostly empty anyway.

Indy gasped at René's mouth on his chest. The fucker was moving fast today. Taking advantage of his weak spots already must have meant he wanted to draw attention away from _something._

Keeping the breathiness out of his voice when René's tongue was circling his nipples was a challenge but he mostly managed. ”I can guess what it was you were looking for. Your ancient Sumerian was never that good you'd need someone to translate the cuneiform tablets-”

Indy froze. ”Sh.”

He pushed René off. ”I could hear the door to the outer office opening. I thought I locked the door. It must be Marcus-”

Hurriedly, he tried to button his shirt up. ”Try not to look suspicious.”

”It might help if you stopped pinning me against the wall.”

Indy stepped back just in time for the door to open.

It was not Marcus.

”Ah. Nghn. Dad.”

” _This_ is your office?” his father frowned. ”Could use a good-” he spotted René. ”Hello?”

”He was just leaving! By the way it's really hot in here isn't it? Must be- something wrong with the heating.” Indy pulled his shirt open slightly hoping it'd explain his unkempt appearance. ”Phew.”

He took a hold of René's shoulders and started guiding him towards the door. ”How nice of you to pop in unexpectedly but I recall you saying you were busy elsewhere-”

René dug in his heels and stomped on Indy's foot to stop himself from being pushed out of the room. ”Oh I still have time.”

René took off his hat and gave the sunniest of his smiles to Indy's father. ”I don't believe we have been introduced..?”

Indy groaned. ”This is my dad- Professor Jones. Dad, this is my-”

Rival? Shadowy reflection? Lover? Boyfriend? Occasional ally? Major pain in the ass?

Taken aback by the realization that the enemies-with-benefits arrangement he had with René was technically his longest romantic relationship he stumbled over his words and his mouth went with: ”My Belloq.”

René reached a hand out to Henry Sr. ”A pleasure. I have heard so much about you.”

”You have?”

”Granted, your son doesn't talk that much about you but I am of course very familiar with your work. Medieval literature overlaps quite a lot with my areas of expertise. I enjoyed your recent paper on the evolution of the supernatural elements in the Arthurian legend.”

A smile spread on Henry Sr's face and he shook his hand. ”I didn't think anyone read it. So you're a historian as well?”

”Oh yes. I have been working with your son for years. Lot of-” he licked his lip ever so slightly- “practical research. But never mind that, I was very interested in your interpretation of the-”

”Oh look at the time Dad why are you here I am very busy!?” Indiana interrupted him.

His brain hadn't quite caught up with the fact René and his father were talking (with _each other!_ ) but the terror at the situation was mounting.

”Can't a father want to see his son?” He sighed. ”It was Marcus. He seemed to think I should. Do father-son bonding activities with you that don't include being shot at by the Nazis.”

René let out a laugh. ”That's a funny joke.” He elbowed Indy. ”That our little bookworm Doctor Jones would ever get around to something that exciting.”

”Yeah. Anyway-” Indy was ignored once more as his father cut him off.

”So I was planning to get some lunch but-”

”What a wonderful idea!” René said. ”I happen to know a lovely little restaurant just across the street! We should all go. I'd love to talk more about your work, Professor Jones.”

”I think I would love it.”

Indy stood there, watching dumbfounded as the two prepared to leave. Together.

His father turned around. ”Aren't you coming, son?”

And so Indiana ended up sitting in the cozy little Italian restaurant, with his father and his arguably-worst-enemy and even-more-arguably-boyfriend. Watching them chatting.

Being friendly.

He wondered if he should just start mentally preparing himself for René inviting himself to stay for Christmas with them.


	2. Chapter 2

”What are you doing here?” Indiana demanded to know.  
René waved the paper he had been reading at Indy's desk. ”Can't I be curious?”  
Indiana stepped forward, fuming.  
He was in Indiana's house.  
Indy struggled to keep his tone level. ”If you waited for a month or two you could have read that officially. Once it passes the peer review.”  
”What can I say, I was impatient.” He set the pile of papers back on Indiana's desk. ”If it makes you feel any better consider this a part of peer review; some of your claims about the development of black-figure pottery aren't fully supported by your-”  
”Duly noted.”  
”Just trying to be helpful.”  
Indiana frowned. He hadn't seen Belloq for some time. There had been a few excursions lately where he had expected Belloq to appear behind any corner, ready to steal the relic he had acquired.  
Just when had he started to expect that? Assume René would be where he was?  
Then again, lately René had popped up much more...  
But for him to appear in Indiana's house! Break in while Indy was at work!  
It was crossing a boundary he hadn't before and Indiana wasn't willing to tolerate it.  
So he took a hold of René's shoulder and pinned him to the wall.  
”You really expect me to believe that?”  
René winced in pain and drew in sharp breath. Indiana stopped.  
”I don't care what you believe-”  
Indiana interrupted him with a kiss, deciding he wasn't interested in his excuses. René embraced him, returning the kiss hungrily.  
Even desperately...  
Maybe he had just been lonely. Or wanted to fuck.  
Well, Indiana was happy to provide. It seemed today they'd even have a bed at their disposal.  
He slipped his hands under René's jacket, to better feel his body.  
He stopped. There was something under René's shirt... René twitched. Indiana pulled away his hand.  
His fingers had brushed against something wet.  
”Hey!”  
Indy ignored René's protests and pulled his jacket off.  
”There's blood.”  
René cursed. ” _Merde_. The wound opened.”  
Indiana took René's hand and pulled him to his bathroom.  
”Come on, take off your shirt.”  
René stared at him.  
Indiana pulled out his emergency kit. ”I think I should still have some supplies. I should restock.”  
He gave René a look. ”Shirt. Off.”  
As René didn't seem about to comply Indiana took matters into his own hands and started unbuttoning the shirt. At least he didn't resist now.  
”It's nothing,” René said.  
Indy inspected the bandage he had felt through his clothes before. To his relief there wasn't much bleeding. He threw the shirt into the sink and opened the valve.  
”What are you doing to my shirt?”  
Indiana pushed René down on the chair. ”Sit. What, do you want to ruin your shirt permanently? At least it's not drying up.”  
”It's going to be ruined anyway.”  
Indiana started to remove the bandages. ”It's just some blood. I've gotten bigger stains off before.”  
”Really? I just throw my clothes away when that happens.”  
”Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda do miracles,” Indiana mumbled.  
”I never knew you were such an accomplished homemaker- AH!”  
”Do you want it getting infected? Stay still or this will really reopen.”  
”You did that on purpose.”  
”Stay still and you'll find out if I will be any gentler.”  
Indiana examined the wound. ”Who shot at you? Did you get the bullet out?”  
”I had some trouble in Bolivia a while ago. Bad luck. I did get it treated, eventually.”  
Indiana ran his finger on the wound. It would leave a scar. Not that René- well the both of them- didn't have more than their fair share of them already. Although René seemed to be much better at staying out of trouble. He usually wasn't the one getting his hands dirty and knew to disappear before people realized he hadn't had their best interests in mind.  
But if Indiana was right...  
If the bullet had hit him in a slightly different angle or few inches higher it would have pierced his lung.  
”Bad luck? I'd say you were lucky.”  
One day he might not be fast enough, would overestimate his charm or the stupidity of his victims...  
Indiana pulled the roll of bandages from his emergency kit. ”Lift your arms up.”  
As he started to bandage the wound he wondered. René didn't sound like he was going to talk about this more. Not that it mattered, Indy could fill in the blanks. But-  
Somehow Indiana hadn't considered this as a scenario.  
For years and years he had thought about the possibility René would die. They both lived a dangerous life after all. But he had always assumed that when it happened he would be there.  
That it would be René making some final mistake.  
Once upon a time Indiana had wondered if he would be forced to act, if Belloq would eventually cross some moral line, if it would be either him or Indiana in some final confrontation.  
These days when he imagined it Indiana tended to assume he would try to prevent it, pull René away from some unnamed danger-  
But he would be too late.  
Or he couldn't convince René there was danger and he'd be blinded by pride and greed and walk into his death.  
And Indiana would have to watch René die.  
But it never had occurred to Indiana it might happen without him there.  
That one day René just would stop appearing.  
And Indiana would never know what had happened.  
He'd keep expecting his rival to show up some day, unaware of how he was dead, his body decomposing somewhere middle of a jungle...  
Indiana pulled René into a desperate kiss, burying his fingers into his hair.  
At least for now he was there with him.


End file.
